Gambling.com Group NASDAQ: GAMB reported flat first-quarter revenue and lower profitability as growth in its sports data services business was offset by continued pressure in marketing tied to search rankings, regulatory changes and a shift toward non-SEO traffic channels.
On the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, Co-founder and incoming Chief Executive Officer Kevin McCrystle said revenue was EUR 40.4 million, in line with the prior year, while adjusted EBITDA was EUR 9 million. Chief Financial Officer Elias Mark said the company updated its full-year 2026 outlook to revenue of EUR 165 million to EUR 170 million and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 45 million to EUR 50 million.
Management said it expects revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow to expand sequentially in the second half of the year, helped by restructuring savings and a cost base more aligned with the company’s changing revenue mix.
Sports data services grow as OpticOdds gains traction
McCrystle said sports data services revenue rose 13% year over year to EUR 11.2 million, representing 28% of total revenue, the segment’s highest share to date. Mark said enterprise services, for the first time, were roughly equal in size to consumer data services.
McCrystle identified OpticOdds as the key driver of the sports data services performance. He said OpticOdds recorded 94% growth in new deals compared with the first quarter of 2025, while international partners increased 178% year over year. Total active partners rose 24% from the prior quarter, and 86% of OpticOdds customers are now API customers rather than traditional odds-screen partners.
The company also highlighted increased integration with artificial intelligence tools. McCrystle said OpticOdds has an MCP integration into Claude, allowing enterprise customers to use OpticOdds data inside an AI platform where they are already working. He also said OpticOdds entered into a partnership with Perplexity to provide odds data across its product suite, with launch expected before the end of the second quarter.
In response to an analyst question, McCrystle said the company expects OpticOdds growth to remain consistent, citing international markets, non-sportsbook partners, prediction market ecosystems, media companies, sports teams and operators of varying sizes as areas of demand.
Marketing revenue falls amid SEO and regulatory pressures
Marketing revenue declined 5% year over year to EUR 29.2 million. McCrystle said the segment continued to be affected by negative search engine optimization trends discussed over prior quarters, along with regulatory headwinds in the U.K. and Finland and unfavorable outcomes in revenue share agreements.
Mark said the decline was driven by “low-quality search results” and the regulatory headwinds discussed on the fourth-quarter call. He added that revenue from traffic sources other than organic search was well over 50% and higher than forecast in the quarter, increasing resiliency but lowering contribution margins.
McCrystle said non-SEO revenue exceeded SEO revenue for the second consecutive quarter and was close to 60% of the marketing business in the first quarter. He cited customer relationship management, paid media, large language model referrals and the company’s audience monetization platform as growth areas. He said CRM is “the most compelling opportunity” because it can re-engage and convert audiences developed across multiple channels.
The shift came with higher costs. Cost of sales increased to EUR 6.1 million from EUR 2.2 million a year earlier, and gross profit declined 11% to EUR 34.4 million. Gross margin was 85%, compared with 94% in the year-ago period and consistent with the fourth quarter.
Asked about the U.K. market, McCrystle said lifetime values are moving down and traffic has been lower, though operator demand for traffic remains robust. He also said the company has seen “green shoots” in SEO traffic for Gambling.com since mid-April, but management did not include that improvement in guidance because of Google’s unpredictability.
Company plans AI-driven restructuring
Gambling.com Group announced a proposed group-wide restructuring expected to reduce its workforce by approximately 25%. McCrystle said the move is tied to the company’s shift toward “AI-first” workflows and a flatter organizational structure.
Management said the restructuring is expected to generate approximately EUR 13 million in annualized savings, net of higher AI usage costs. About half of those savings are expected to be realized in 2026 beginning in the third quarter, with the full annualized amount reflected in 2027. Mark said restructuring expenses are expected to be approximately EUR 2.5 million.
McCrystle said AI is already changing the way the company operates, including product development, content production and automation across teams. He said 80% of new code is being generated by AI today, while emphasizing that human oversight remains important for quality and direction.
“Just because you can get an easy output from AI doesn’t mean that’s good enough,” McCrystle said during the question-and-answer session. He added that the company sees greater risk in not moving fast enough with AI adoption.
Profitability declines, but free cash flow remains positive
Adjusted EBITDA declined to EUR 9 million from EUR 15.9 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 22% from 39%. Mark said the lower margin reflected higher cost of sales and external marketing expenses tied to traffic diversification.
Adjusted net income was EUR 3.8 million, or EUR 0.09 per share, compared with EUR 16.5 million, or EUR 0.46 per share, in the prior-year period. Mark noted that the year-ago period included EUR 3.9 million of finance income related to foreign exchange movements, which affected comparability.
Adjusted free cash flow was EUR 3.9 million, down from EUR 10.3 million a year earlier, reflecting lower adjusted EBITDA and slightly higher capital expenditures related to product development. During the quarter, the company settled EUR 6.2 million of deferred consideration and transaction bonuses related to the OddsJam acquisition and repaid EUR 2.8 million on its term loan.
As of March 31, Gambling.com Group had EUR 8.4 million in cash, EUR 40.9 million of total liquidity including its undrawn revolver, and EUR 121 million outstanding on its credit facilities. McCrystle said the company’s capital allocation focus is on deleveraging and that it does not plan to buy back stock in the short term.
CEO transition set for next week
The call was the final earnings call for Charles Gillespie as chief executive. Gillespie, co-founder and current CEO, said he will remain active as executive chairman, handling strategic conversations and supporting McCrystle. He said he remains the company’s second-largest shareholder and has “no intention” of changing that.
Gillespie said the transition has been planned and that McCrystle is already “more or less” operating as group CEO, with the change expected to become official after the company’s annual general meeting next week.
McCrystle said he and Gillespie remain aligned on strategy, including diversification away from sole reliance on SEO, investment in sports data and the company’s broader AI initiatives. Gillespie said past moves, including the acquisition of a data business and investment in live experiences with spotlight.vegas, were part of a strategy intended to position the company for the AI era.
About Gambling.com Group NASDAQ: GAMB
Gambling.com Group is a digital performance marketing company specializing in the online gambling industry. Through a diversified portfolio of affiliate websites, the company generates leads and traffic for operators in segments such as sports betting, online casino, poker, bingo and daily fantasy sports. Its platforms offer in-depth reviews, expert guides, comparison tools and editorial content designed to help players make informed choices and drive conversions for partner brands.
The group's service offerings include search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaigns, display advertising, email marketing and social media management.
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